It is questionable whether or not retrial after a hung jury is Constitutional. Nonetheless, in the United States today, it is generally permitted. If a mistrial occurs due to a hung jury, the prosecutor may decide to retry the case.
History: Federal Penitentiary. The army transferred Alcatraz to the civilian Bureau of Prisons (BOP) in 1934. The BOP quickly converted the aging military prison in to a maximum-security, state-of-the-art civilian penitentiary. Alcatraz would shortly become the most famous federal prison in United States history. Alcatraz was designed to serve as Americaâs first maximum-security, minimum-privilege penitentiary, what is today referred to as a âsuper maxâ institution. From 1934 to 1963, Alcatraz housed some of Americaâs most notorious offenders, escape artists, gang leaders and general trouble makers.
The facility is perhaps most famous for its forbidding location, isolated on a rocky island in the middle of San Francisco Bay. [Photos: Hidden Fortress Beneath Alcatraz] In the three decades that Alcatraz was in operation, there were only 14 escape attempts involving 36 men, according to the FBI. Nearly all of the escapees were caught or died. But on the night of June 11, 1962, three inmates left Alcatraz in one of the most mysterious prison breaks in American history.